POVERTY THOUGHT FORCE WORLD CAFÉ ON Housing & Homelessness

Policy Ideas Generated

Question 1: How might we enhance access to decent, affordable housing for all Winston-Salem residents? What incentives (or regulatory requirements) might encourage developers to increase the stock of affordable housing, and encourage landlords to keep buildings in good shape?

6. Standards for who can be landlords, and what those landlords have an obligation to do

7. Properly manage and upkeep the property for the residents they rent to

8. Help people establish credit

9. Provide information about resources

10. City should put in money to enhance a less desirable area instead of continuously investing in the already nice areas of town

11. a certain number of homes had to go to people with low income; we should bring that back

12. programs being advertised

13. Identify what counts as a qualified resident

14. Make livable home spaces without safety hazards

15. Housing quality standards

16. Utilize community funds for repairing homes

17. Educating home ownership to prevent draining resources

18. Standards for who can be landlords, and what those landlords have an obligation to do

19. Properly manage and upkeep the property for the residents they rent to

20. Help people establish credit

21. Provide information about resources

22. City should put in money to enhance a less desirable area instead of continuously investing in the already nice areas of town

23. A certain number of homes had to go to people with low income; we should bring that back

24. Programs being advertised

25. Do something in schools to help kids learn skillsets that could help them in getting a home later in life… maybe in high school students can learn more about planning for home ownership and what steps need to be taken

26. Habitat for Humanity provides some information about programs

27. programs match the funds that a family saves which is incentive

28. advertise their programs on social media

29. Banks supply programs for financial literacy

30. ESR budgeting class

31. one-stop place in town that would provide a compilation of all these services in one place; maybe a library

32. One Line: phone book for agencies and organizations

33. city needs to know what all these other agencies are doing in addition to what the city is doing

34. get more involved visiting the community: they need to tell other organizations what they’re doing so those organizations can pass on the information about other resources to people looking for hel

35. One Stop place is ideal

36. interconnectedness between organizations

37. Website of resources

38. helping move people into rental housing

39. Voucher programs through housing program

40. Habitat for Humanity is good for those who are ready for homeownership and Section 8 is good for those who are not ready for long-term housing, but rapid rehousing is the middle of that and it needs to be expanded

41. Hope 6 project: transitioned people from public housing to mixed income housing by getting their credit up through education and classes about home ownership

42. a house with 1-2% interest rate, but now what is it? 30%? 10%? Is there any way to change that

43. Banks often call you because they want you to remortgage, so they need to reach these people (low-income individuals)

44. convince people that they can save money

45. Use of Social Media

46. decentralize poverty (it’s in specific areas)

47. help people build their knowledge over time by attending classes

48. outreach services so people don’t necessarily have to scour the community for resources, but rather, the resources come to them (at a local community center nearby or something)

49. educate people about what is required in owning a home

50. Communities that have been granted access by 10% of New Housing units being subsidized housing (Inclusionary Zoning)

○ Serves Impoverished, Disabled, Limited Income

○ Chapel Hill as a case study

51. HUD Funding

○ Fix Old Motels into living spaces; Supporting organizations that would

81. change mindsets – increase drive and motivation within individuals to improve their living conditions

82. Require 10% of each neighborhood to be for low-income housing (a model from Washington D.C.)

83. increase the jurisdiction of the Housing Authority of WS to regulate wealthier neighborhoods that are outside the city limits

84. increase amount of jobs that provide livable wage

85. create more reliable and more extensive public transportation

Question 2: How best to enhance qualified residents’ participation in existing programs of housing support? These include education about the benefits of homeownership and efforts to enable those in public housing to transition to the housing market. Relatedly: how to expand our most successful housing-support programs?

1. Need better cooperation between agencies, so people can access services

2. Packet of community resources- helpful for families to get linked to services

3. People need to be able to have time off if they are sick and still be able to make money

4. Algorithm that bases things off of what people need (whether they are a mother, pregnant, homeless, etc.)

5. Network of people that offer advocacy and support in order to get someone into housing

6. Track family with how they did in supportive housing- are they ready to become homeowners?

7. Step 1: supportive housing, Step 2: homeownership- can you take the next step?

8. Grant housing navigator- steps into support people in order to maintain permanent housing

9. People who work for agencies need to find agencies so that they can expose them to those in need

10. Central database (211)

11. Case manager can ensure that someone can make the transition from institution to home

12. We need a system that infuses professionals and volunteers

13. Match volunteer up with someone who needs help so they can assist that person

14. Need to feed services to students so they know what they are eligible for (scholarships, student loans)

15. Bring programs to public housing units and make it approachable (offer food, coffee, etc.)

16. Have a volunteer that they are comfortable with work with them and take them to these places

17. Get people in the doors of church (for instance) and educate them and give them the hope to want better

18. Individual development account (classes about budgeting)

19. Center for homeownership

20. Walk people through the process because they are scared to do it on their own- coaching

21. More 1-on-1 focus, be an advocate for the resident

22. One-stop-shop, which is access to all resources in one place to ease the process

Question 3: What new or expanded policy approaches could help reduce or even eliminate homelessness in Winston-Salem?

1. Incentivize more affordable housing

2. Redevelopment of boarded houses around the city

3. Raise minimum wage

4. Smaller housing options

5. Ban the box - grace period for people with a criminal record while they are transitioning

6. Coordinated intake centers - send them to case managers and use rapid housing to try and put them in a house first

7. Re-entry programs for people coming out of jail/prison

8. Veteran homelessness

9. Funding for addiction + mental illness programs

10. Parenting classes like planned parenthood

11. Better studies of homelessness: who, how long, why

12. Financial literacy education

13. Expand medicaid so healthcare costs dont result in homelessness

14. Increase homeless services for mothers with children

15. Increase job training and skills workshops so people have capabilities (think goodwill)

16. Increase job training and skills workshops so people have capabilities (think goodwill)

17. Raise poverty income guidelines with raising minimum wage

a. Making it a living wage, more jobs available

18. alcohol / drug-free housing

19. Get on employers to look at backgrounds less harshly similar to credit background check

20. Rate control, not allow people to inflate rent prices

21. Tiny House movement, could be solution to housing

22. Tax Breaks for single individuals could help

23. Look beyond government as a partner

○ Corporations, local solutions

24. Biggest need, permanent supportive housing

25. support via social worker to help make sure they are going to the doctor, paying bills, etc

26. Make expungement more easily available

27. Making headway on addiction would be a huge help

28. Rapid Rehousing

29. People in prison aren’t equipped to enter a society after being in for a long time

○ Could be beneficialto put money on front end, similar to military personnel

30. Social workers to help map a plan for each individual (each case is different)

31. Housing first model

32. Coordinate a list of things working well in Winston Salem, match people based on needs with appropriate aid (assessment, not1st come, 1st served)

33. Employers of Winston Salem, work with bethesda or homeless shelter, to get people jobs or on their feet quickly

34. Develop a landlord base that would be willing to help with homeless situations

35. Maybe charity / tax breaks for landlords

36. Access to food (community gardens)

37. Transportation as an issue

○ Access, Affordability

38. create affordable housing by new development

39. Transportation policy with bus station location and transportation authority

40. Mixed income housing which would eliminate segregation within the community

41. Community policy that rewards and encourages mixed development within the community

58. Get rid of the box on lease applications that require that they check if they’ve been incarcerated. Same applies to sex offenders

59. pay a living wage

60. Get the community involved. Reaching out to churches/ faith based communities that are passionate about the cause and are willing to help sponsor housing

61. minority faith based communities and get them involved with the cause. Community involvement in advocacy for this issue is key. Faith based communities can act like resource centers and networking with people who are willing to help are essential.

62. infrastructure surround low income housing so that people can also work, shop, etc. in the same community where they live

63. Diversify developments such that some of it is affordable housing but not all of it.